Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar KLEW01066.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98KLEW01066xe2x80x99.
The new Poinsettia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Stuttgart, Germany. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Poinsettia cultivars with attractive flower bract coloration and uniform plant habit.
The new Poinsettia originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1996 of a proprietary selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. identified as code number K 137, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent, with an unidentified proprietary selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar KLEW01066 was discovered and selected by the Inventor in 1998 as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Stuttgart, Germany. The selection of this plant was based on its attractive flower bract coloration and uniform plant habit.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by vegetative terminal cuttings taken at Stuttgart, Germany since 1999, has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98KLEW01066xe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98KLEW01066xe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Poinsettia cultivar:
1. Upright and uniform plant habit.
2. Dark green-colored leaves with purple-colored petioles.
3. Brilliant red-colored flower bracts.
4. Early flowering; response time, about 7.5 weeks.
5. Good post-production longevity.
Plants of the new Poinsettia differ from plants of the female parent, the selection K 137, in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Poinsettia are not as vigorous as plants of the selection K 137.
2. Leaves of plants of the new Poinsettia are darker green than leaves of plants of the selection K 137.
Plants of the new Poinsettia differ primarily from plants of the male parent, the unidentified proprietary selection, in flower bract coloration.
Plants of the new Poinsettia can also be compared to plants of the cultivar Fiscor, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,364. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Stuttgart, Germany, plants of the new Poinsettia differed from plants of the cultivar Fiscor in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Poinsettia were not as vigorous than plants of the cultivar Fiscor.
2. Plants of the new Poinsettia had smaller leaves than plants of the cultivar Fiscor.